


Adora Belle - Orc Mercenary

by tigerflower (peadragon)



Series: My D&D babies [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Adora's game is a tal'dorei campaign, Elana is co-owned with my dm & all her dialogue is run past him, F/F, Gen, I will explicitly say in the start of chapter notes which ones are, Rating May Change, Some Chapters are Gen, and the occasional place setting / side character will show up, but this is not a critical role fic, chapter summary should make which is which obvious, my d&d characters, plus some of the chapters are co-written with him, so I won't be tagging any of them, some are f/f, will include a warning at the beginning of a chapter if it's nsfw/explicit though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-03-01 13:12:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18801034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peadragon/pseuds/tigerflower
Summary: A series of ficlets about my original d&d character Adora Belle, the orc mercenary.Adora Belle, fondly called “Slayer” by her family, is an orc mercenary who doesn’t back down from a fight or leave a job unfinished. She’s a fierce warrior who operates under a strict moral code of professionalism - she keeps her word and honours her end of the deal exactingly, and she expects others to do the same. Any who don’t suffer her swift and bloody retribution. She’s more concerned with her personal code of ethics than the law but won’t break the law needlessly as a matter of practicality (people trying to arrest her is so inconvenient). She is very literal and straight-forward, often to the point of being blunt and will speak frankly and candidly to anyone regardless of status.





	1. Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> Just fic about my original d&d characters. Apologies if name sharing with established fictional characters accidentally lead you here. I have a bad habit of borrowing other people's character names for my d&d characters.
> 
> If you don't know these characters, there will be a bunch of context missing from these, but they might still be interesting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a short ficlet about the night that Tasikhe, Adora's Troll Dad, found little Adora and adopted her into his motley bandit gang.

Tasikhe sighed as he looked over the small child, sleeping curled up against the large, feathered form of Ho-Oh.

“She’s so normal, Delilah,” he said, finally, to the Yuan-ti coiled next to him. The child might have claimed to be an orc when they’d found her, but she could almost pass for human, or maybe an elf, if it weren’t for the tiny tusks barely poking out from her mouth.

“That’sss... unusssually judgy of you, Tasss,” Delilah drawled sarcastically. “Normiesss are people too.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Tasikhe grumbled. “It’s just, we could leave her in a town. She could be adopted by a normal family, have a normal life. She doesn’t have to live on the fringes, like us.”

Behind them came the distinct sound of Rruzzor’s high-pitched laugh-bark. “She’s an orc,” the gnoll scoffed. “They may be more tolerated than some of us, but are they really accepted?” He pushed past Tasikhe to drape a hand-knitted quilt over the child, who was beginning to shiver in the chilly winter night.

“He hasss a point Tasss,” Delilah said. “Can you really sssay you’d prefer patronisssing toleranssse to the love and aceptanssse of a real family?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Tasihke spat. “I wasn’t given the chance for either.” Delilah reached out and put a hand on Tasikhe’s shoulder.

For a time, the three of them sat in silence, the rumbling snores of Tom-Tom & Zig-Zag the only noise breaking the peace of the swamp around them. Then a small popping noise sounded in the air above Tasikhe’s head.

“Please can we keep her?” squeaked a tiny voice. He looked up to see one of the triplet's heads poking out of a portal in the air above him.

“She could talk to people!” piped up a second voice, as another portal opened up next to the first. “In towns!”

“Buy us fun things!” came a third voice from further up into the night.

Tasikhe snorted fondly. “Go back to keeping lookout,” he grumbled. There was the noise of a raspberry being blown above him, and then three quiet pops of the Boggarts closing their portals.

“She _could_ open up a lot opportunities for us,” Rruzzor mused. “Having someone who could trade for us would really help the group, would mean we wouldn’t have to resort as often to risking our necks for scraps.”

Tasikhe sighed again. He knew Rruzzor was just trying to offer him a logical excuse to follow his heart, and he appreciated it, he did. But didn’t that just make him twice as selfish, if he robbed this child of a normal life so that he could play at being a good person with a real family, and at the same time exploit her ability to walk openly in the society he was keeping her from? Surely that made him a monster? Tasikhe smiled to himself, good thing he already was one, huh?

Next to him, Delilah smiled as well. He didn’t need to say anything for her to know he’d made his decision. It had never been a choice, really.


	2. Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a chapter about the day that Adora broke her Troll Dad's heart by deciding to leave the bandit life behind & strike out on her own (or with her new girlfriend) as a mercenary.

Adora raised a hand and rubbed at the back of her neck. “So, Ashley was just saying, like, I guess there’s not much honour in killing people who don’t pose a threat to you, or like, are capable of defending themselves?” She looked unsurely up at him. She’d grown a lot since she was that tiny slip of a child they’d found huddled under a bush, freezing to death, but she was still a good few feet shorter than him.

“Adora, sweetie,” he began, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew they were wrong. Adora’s shoulders tensed, and she looked back at the ground. But Tasikhe was desperate to make her understand, so he ploughed on. “Honour isn’t a real thing. It’s a fairy-tale that “heroes” tell themselves, so they can sleep at night.”

“But what if we…” Adora kicked at the ground with her toe. “We could just fight bad guys and get paid for it. Ashley said-”

Tasikhe’s fist clenched where it hung by his thigh. “Firstly,” he spat. “Ashley is a _human_. Honour and good vs bad is a luxury that people like her have, and people like us don’t.” He took a deep breath, forcing himself to get a grip on his anger. “Secondly, no-one’s going to pay us to kill bad guys, honey. We _are_ the bad guys.”

“But we don’t have to be!” Adora protested, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared defiantly up at him.

“Tell that to society,” Tasikhe said sadly.

They stood in tense silence for a while, before Adora eventually looked away.

“ _I_ don’t have to be a bad guy,” she whispered.

Tasikhe’s heart dropped into his stomach. He’d known this was coming since the day he found her. If he was being completely honest with himself, this was why he’d been hesitant to keep her at first. But he also knew that if he could go back, and change his mind, he wouldn’t. A fraction of the past fourteen years he’d gotten to care for her, would have been worth it.

“No, you don’t,” he agreed, finally.


	3. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora meets Elana. Could this be the beginning of something beautiful? (Yes, yes it is.)
> 
> Not _explicit_ explicit, but certainly dances on the edge.

It was a miserable afternoon when Adora hiked into Kymal. The clouds hung low and dark in the sky, and the persistent drizzle of rain had long since soaked through her coat. She thought gloomily about the cold, wet night ahead of her in the boarding house she normally stayed at when she was in this part of the world. The paltry fire never quite warmed the drafty room, and she’d be lucky if she didn’t get fleas from the cot again.

As she trudged down the road, she passed an inn, the cheerfully painted hearth on the swinging sign out the front taunting her. The door burst open and a patron stepped into the street, drawing their hood up against the rain. Adora sighed as a blast of warm air wafted over her. Maybe she could just go in for a little bit, buy an overpriced ale and sit near the fire nursing it until they chucked her out. Maybe she’d pass out under a table and they’d be nice and leave her there.

The interior of the inn was homey. A fire smouldered in a large hearth in the corner, warming the room and lighting it with a soft glow. Rustic, miss-matched furniture was clustered haphazardly about, including a few cushioned sofas. Most importantly, the bar stretched out along the far wall. Adora approached it, sitting heavily on a stool at the end closest to the fire and dropping her gear on the floor next to her.

“One of those days, huh?” came a voice from the other side of the bar as a mug of ale was set down in front of her.

“Eh,” Adora grunted, too tired to participate in meaningless small talk. She picked up the ale and took a swig. It was good. Oh yeah, this was going to cost her far too much.

“You need anything else sweetheart?” Adora glanced up, bristling slightly at the condescending pet name, and finally looked at the barmaid in front of her. What little function was left in Adora’s travel weary brain crashed.

She was… The most beautiful woman Adora had ever seen. Her freckle-strewn face was framed with a halo of deep auburn hair, glowing softly in the low candlelight and a wry smile played on her full lips.

Adora came back to the real world to find ale dribbling down her chin. The barmaid smiled encouragingly, waiting for her to answer. Adora swiped at her chin self-consciously. “Uhhh... Stew?” she mumbled. “And how much for a hot bath?”

“We don’t have a bathhouse on site, but we can bring a tub & hot water up to your room for an extra four silver.”

Adora winced, for that she could get two nights stay in her usual place, meals included. “I don’t have a room here...” She reached into the pocket on the inside of her jerkin, pulling out her meagre fortune & counting it intensely. “But I’ll take the stew and another ale.”

The barmaid nodded and pocketed Adora's money. “My name's Elana by the way,” she said.

“I'm Adora Belle,” Adora said, levelling Elana with the usual look she used when introducing herself. The one that dared the other person to make something of it.

Elana didn't laugh, but she did give Adora a look up and down, then she quirked her eyebrow. “Yes, you are, aren't you?” Adora blushed. From anyone else, a comment like that would have probably made her angry. But the barmaid, Elana, had a way of making it sound flattering.

“I’ll go get you that stew,” Elana said, walking off towards a door at the back of the bar. Adora rested her chin in her hand as she watched her walk away. Oh, she was going to have to bring out the big guns for this one. Carefully, she took off her heavy jacket, draping it over the stool next to her to dry. Then she adjusted the metal bands around her bare biceps, flexing them a little in practice.

* * *

“So, where you in from?” Elana asked, leaning casually on the bar.

Adora swallowed the last of her stew, washing it down with a swig of ale. “Silvercut Crossroads.”

Elana nodded. “You been to Kymal before?”

“Yeah, few times.” Adora replied. “I usually stay at The Shady Respite.”

Elana smiled. “Well that explains why I haven’t seen you before. Because I definitely would have remembered those arms,” she said, winking.

Adora grinned and leant forward onto the bar, casually flexing her muscles. Elana's gaze travelled slowly down them then back up to Adora’s face. “What’s the news from the Silvercut?” she asked.

Adora shrugged. “They had a bandit problem. Ravagers trying to expand their territory.” Adora shook her head. “Fucking idiots. The law’s never gonna let the Crossroads be taken. You gotta be realistic with your ambitions.”

“Do you now?” Elana asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah,” Adora scoffed. “That’s just common sense.”

Elana opened her mouth to reply, but a large group of patrons bustled in the door, hailing her loudly. She shot Adora an apologetic look, before heading over to them.

As Elana saw to her new customers, Adora picked up her gear and settled in by the fire. The chair was soft, the fire was pleasantly warm, the stew and ale were settling comfortably in her stomach, and before long Adora had drifted off into a doze.

* * *

Adora woke abruptly as someone grabbed her shoulder. She opened her eyes and sat up with a start, her hand instinctively reaching for her great axe before she took in her surroundings. Elana was standing above her, a wary look in her eyes signalling that this was probably not the first time she'd woken a warrior from a nap. The tavern was quiet and dark, lit only by the dim glow of the fire which had burned down to embers, letting a chill creep back in the air. Adora shivered.

“I’m sorry,” Elana said, straightening back up and lifting her hand from Adora's shoulder. “I didn’t want to wake you but the tavern’s closing for the night and you can’t sleep here.”

Adora blinked a few times, clearing the last dregs of sleep from her brain. “Oh yeah, I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to... I should get going.” She stood up and began to gather her gear.

Elana watched her silently for a moment, then she bit her lip. “You know if you're still interested in that bath, I'm headed to the public bathhouse down the road. It’s not the same as a private one but it’s hot and clean and only two copper.”

Adora paused, turning to look at Elana. Was this flirting, or just being kind? Elana held her gaze for a moment, before looking down and back up again through her lashes. “That is, if you wanted to...” she said.

 _Yep,_ Adora thought. _That’s flirting._ She grinned.

* * *

Adora sank back into the piping hot water, closing her eyes as the warmth seeped into her bones. She felt Elana lower herself delicately into the water across from her and she opened one of her eyes a crack, peering over at her. Her pale skin was glowing pink from the heat of the water, and she’d let her hair down to tumble in waves over her shoulders. Adora’s breath hitched in her throat and a longing ran through her to reach out and run her hands through it. Instead she leant back, resting her elbows on the lip of the pool, and casually flexing her muscles. She watched Elana’s gaze travel over her arms, then it stopped at her right bicep.

“This is an impressive scar,” she said, leaning forward to trace it with a finger. “Where did you get it?”

Adora shivered slightly at the touch, her body naturally leaning into it. “Wolves…” she whispered. “A few years ago. Got paid to chase them off from a farmstead.”

Elana smiled and inched closer, before reaching up to trace her thumb down the scar on Adora's lower lip. “And this one?”

Adora swallowed heavily, holding Elana's gaze as tingles ran over her skin. “I beat up a rock with my face.”

Elana laughed, breaking the overwhelming tension that had been growing. “What?”

“I was five,” Adora explained, smiling at one of the few memories she had from her early childhood. “I was running through the forest and I tripped and landed face first on a rock.” She brought her hand up to the scar where it sat perfectly in line with her left tusk. “I only had a tiny little tusk at the time, and it broke off and tore my lip open.”

Adora paused. She'd never told this much about her past to anyone, why was she telling this random childhood story to a barmaid she barely knew? Then Elana smiled encouragingly at her, and something inside her melted. Feeling relaxed, she continued the story.

“I wandered back into camp, tears in my eyes and blood streaming down my chin, and told my father what happened. He laughed and declared my battle with the fearsome rock a resounding victory. Then he got the healers to put the ceremonial herb on it. The one that stings like a motherfucker but makes scars stand out real good, to commemorate epic conquests.

“The tusk grew back eventually, but it's always been a little jagged and the scar never went away.”

Elana grinned. “That's adorable.”

“That's my name, don't wear it out,” Adora shot back, not missing a beat. Elana groaned and rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

Then she reached out and ran her hand over the runes encircling Adora’s clan tattoo. “I don’t recognise this language,” she mused. “What does it mean?”

Adora frowned. There was never a good time to reveal that you were raised a bandit. At least around people as nice as Elana seemed. So instead of answering, she circled her arm around Elana’s waist, pulling her into her lap. “You ask too many questions,” she growled. Then she kissed her.

Elana kissed her back enthusiastically, turning to straddle her lap and running her hands up Adora’s back. Adora brought one of her hands up to tangle in Elana’s hair, tugging on it gently to pull Elana’s head back and trailing kisses down her neck, and Elana moaned softly in response.

Just as Adora was considering whether she was daring enough to have sex in a public bathhouse, she heard someone clear their throat loudly from behind her. Reluctantly pulling away from Elana, she leant back to see the bathhouse attendant they’d paid on the way in standing in the doorway. She was pointing to a sign on the wall which, of course, Adora couldn’t read.

Elana let out a breathy laugh. “How about we take this back to my place?” she whispered. Adora just nodded enthusiastically in reply.

They dressed hurriedly, barely bothering to dry off first. Then Elana led Adora by the hand back through the streets of Kymal to the inn. It was raining again but Adora barely noticed the water soaking into her already damp clothes. Nor did she notice the bite of the winter air on her wet skin. All she felt was her heart pounding in her chest and the press of Elana’s hand in hers.

When they reached the inn, Elana led her in the back door, up the servant’s stairs, and into a room at the end of the hall. The second they were inside, Elana was kissing her again, grabbing her by the front of the shirt, and pulling her back towards the bed.

Adora pulled away briefly, holding Elana away from her with a hand on her waist. “Just to be clear, I'm not looking for a relationship,” she said gravely.

Elana flashed her a smile. “Neither am I.”

“Okay, good,” Adora said, smiling back. “I just like to be upfront about it.”

“Good policy,” Elana replied, backing up to sit on the bed. “Now are you going to come over here and fuck me senseless, or what?”

Adora smirked, giving Elana a half-hearted salute. “Yes ma'am.”

* * *

When Adora woke, she was alone in bed. Morning light was creeping in around the shutters on the window and shining obnoxiously on her face. Throwing her clothes on, she grabbed her gear and wandered downstairs. Elana was back behind the bar, serving another patron. Adora slid into the same stool as the night before and waited.

“Morning,” Elana chirped as she approached her. “Can I get you breakfast?”

Adora swallowed her first instinct, to suggest a different kind of breakfast she’d like from Elana. “Sounds good,” she said instead.

Elana lent on the bar as Adora ate. “If you're looking for work, I heard Silver Trading & Shipping is looking for caravan guards for a trip up to Westrun.”

Adora nodded. “Thanks, I’ll check it out.” The silence stretched out just far enough to turn slightly awkward as Adora finished her breakfast. Then she looked up at Elana, self-consciously rubbing at the back of her neck. “So… Next time I’m in Kymal.”

Elana smiled softly at her. “You should come see me.”

Sitting up a little straighter, Adora grinned. “Okay, I will,” she said, pausing slightly before clarifying, “I'm still not-”

“-looking for a relationship.” Elana finished for her. “I know. I’m not offering one.”

As usual, Adora felt a mixture of relief and disappointment at the prospect of not having a relationship. It was easier that way, she told herself for the hundredth time. Easier and safer.

She stood up, picking up her gear. “Well, I’d better head out if I want to get that caravan guard position.” She leant forward, instinctively going to kiss Elana goodbye, then thought better of it and straightened up. Instead she settled for a wry smile, before turning to leave. “See you round,” she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the inn, resolutely not looking back.

Back inside Home, unbeknownst to Adora, Elana looked at the door she’d just left through and sighed sadly. “Oh sweetie, who hurt you?” she muttered, before getting on with her job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of the inn that Adora enters is "Home". The universe is being entirely unsubtle at this point, but because Adora is illiterate it's still going to take some time for it to get through to her.
> 
> Also, because of course I came up with the text on the sign Adora couldn't read, it said:  
>  _This is NOT a brothel!_  
>  Please get a room.  
> (Somewhere else.)


	4. Cunning Linguist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora helps Elana learn some Orcish, and Elana puts Adora's mind at ease about her illiteracy. Just a sweet wholesome chapter, what would give you the impression it was anything more :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yeah, this is another chapter that rides the line of explicitry / maybe is actually explicit. I don't really know what qualifies... Including some dirty talk and a very well-timed fade to black interlude so that I could avoid writing actual porn (don't worry, the straight-up porn is on its way).
> 
> Also, this chapter was co-written with my DM. As in I showed him a rough draft that was more script than prose and he filled it in with a bunch of stuff that was too good not to share. So I'm sharing it here, with his permission.

Adora wasn’t at all frustrated that her departure had been delayed. She was, of course, perfectly content sitting around, uselessly, in Elana’s room while the pelting rain battered against the window. Of course, in such horrible conditions, what caravan could _possibly_ leave the city? Who would _dare_ to be outside in weather like this? Adora scoffed. No wonder that idiot man couldn’t afford to keep a fighter on the payroll for more than a month; she was surprised he could afford to eat. Still, the situation wasn’t all bad; here, dry and warm on Elana’s bed, she at least had a pleasant view.

Seated in the armchair across the room, Elana stirred. She had been wearing the same sexy thinking face for nearly two hours as she made her way through the book in her hands and it was doing nothing to help Adora fight off the urge to cross the room and rip it from her. But Adora was intruding already, staying this long. The least she could do was stay out of the way of Elana’s usual afternoon activities.

Elana’s brow creased adorably, and Adora thought for the hundredth time that it must be a particularly hard book, the way it had been keeping Elana so entirely engrossed, and seemingly bewildered, this whole time. She felt a sudden pang of jealousy towards it. Then Elana sat up straighter, finally looking up at Adora and flipping the book around in her hands.

“What does that say?” Elana asked, holding out the book. Adora took it on instinct and looked at the page where Elana had tapped. Adora, of course, had no idea what it said. However, she _did_ know that there was only one language in which a J could follow a H. Having spotted one such combination, and feeling proud of herself, she offered Elana what little information she could.

“It’s Orcish,” she stated, then doubted herself as Elana frowned at her. “I think,” Adora added. After all, so many letters looked the same to her. She handed the book back, and Elana glanced down at it again.

“Well, yeah,” Elana mumbled, not satisfied with the answer. “At least I thought it was. But if you can't read it…” Elana began to lean back in her chair, returning her attention to the word-squiggles with an increased level of intensity.

Adora spoke suddenly, without thinking, desperate to do whatever it took to keep Elana’s attention on her.  “I…” she started, before immediately pausing again. _No, don’t say that. It’s not important. Or any of her business_. Then Elana looked up from the book, and the rest of the words pushed past Adora’s teeth and fell out onto the bed. “I can't read. Anything.” Adora flushed red, regretting the words immediately. She clenched her jaw and tensed her shoulders, preparing herself for whatever reaction she was about to get.

“Oh. I could teach you, if you like,” Elana smiled as she suggested exactly the second thing Adora had feared. Part of her mind relaxed a little, relieved that at least she wasn’t being laughed at. Still, the frustration and embarrassment of failing at reading lessons again was unacceptable. _Especially_ in front of Elana.

“Or… You could come over here and I could teach you some Orcish phrases you won't find in a book…” Adora gave Elana her most charming smile, and flexed just a little, leaving no doubt about what she was offering.

Elana smirked, and immediately snapped the book shut with one hand. “Like what?” she asked, demurely looking away from the bed and standing to place the book on her nightstand. As Elana moved closer, Adora slid herself to the nearer side of the bed and rose up on her knees to whisper hesitantly into Elana’s ear. She hadn’t spoken Orcish much recently, and never used it like this, but one phrase rose to mind immediately.

“ _The Tusk consumes more than culinary pleasures_ ,” she muttered, and for the first time, began to appreciate the guttural beauty in the Orcish syntax. Elana froze as she spoke, drawing in the sounds, and Adora watched in delight as her face reddened slightly.

“I only understood one of those words,” Elana smiled, and casually tugged at the drawstrings on her blouse, “and I'm not sure I want to know what it was doing in there, but it sounded really hot. Do it again.” 

Adora, relieved at the reaction she had gotten, reached out and tugged at Elana’s wrist. Elana allowed herself to be pulled down onto the bed, landing gently across Adora’s lap. Adora, her left arm around her lover, trailed the fingers of her right up Elana’s thighs, and under the hem of her skirts. “ _I would die happily smothered by your thighs.”_ She intoned slowly, translating the phrase from Common as she spoke.

Elana smirked and pushed Adora back down onto the bed. “Oh, I think I got the gist of that one,” she said, slipping the blouse over her head, and tossing it to the floor. Then she turned her gaze back to Adora, levelling her with the look that made Adora’s legs turn to jelly.

“More,” she demanded, her tone quiet but firm and leaving no room for argument.

Adora swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, then she shifted her body, gaining a solid position on the mattress. She grabbed both of Elana’s thighs, one with each hand, and with a grunt she lifted Elana clear from the bed and manoeuvred her into a position straddling her shoulders. With a flick of her wrists, Adora folded Elana’s skirts up and out of the way, revealing her panties underneath. Her voice came out deeper and rougher again as she almost growled, “ _I want you to ride my face until I drown in you_.”

The red in Elana’s face deepened as she hurried to undo the lacing on the sides of her panties. “Whatever you just said,” she panted as the thin layer of cotton fell away, “ _yes_.”

Adora smirked, and pushed Elana’s knees apart, lowering her within reach.

* * *

Elana lay in the bed next to Adora, a familiar blissed-out smile playing at her lips as she gazed at the ceiling above them. Adora was stretched out on her side watching her and considering how best to broach the topic that had been on her mind lately.

“So now that that's out there,” she finally began, causing Elana to turn her head to look at her. “I’ve been dying to know… Is this place actually named Home or do you just call it that because you live here? Because I have been _very_ confused.”

Elana laughed quietly. “It's literally an inn named Home,” she said, running one hand through her bed hair, before adding, “Patrick thinks he's clever.” Adora lay in silence for a moment, until Elana shifted onto her side and reached up to cup Adora’s cheek in her hand.

“Have you been hiding this from me because you were embarrassed?” Elana asked, stroking the side of Adora’s face, and pushing the grey hairs from over her eye.

Adora started to turn away. “Well you're so smart is all, and really into books. And I like... hanging out with you. I didn't want you to decide I wasn't worth your time.” _Like others have,_ her thoughts continued _. Like Ashley had_.

Elana began to sit up, and Adora looked back at her. There was neither judgement nor pity, the two reactions Adora normally got, in her eyes. There was only a smile, and a very slight sadness. “Oh honey,” Elana said, “I would never. Reading is a skill just the same as dismembering people with axes.” Elana leant forward and kissed her, before finishing her thought. “I could teach you, but you don't _have_ to learn.”

Adora smiled and felt another little piece of the mental weight fall away. “I kind of doubt you could,” she said flippantly, “based on the last three times someone has tried. But thank you, for offering but not insisting.”

“No problem,” Elana said. Then she reached over to the nightstand and picked up the book again. “Can I maybe read this book to you? To practice my Orcish? It's a bit trashy, but...” Elana looked over at Adora, biting her lip and smiling. Adora looked down at the book, then back up at Elana, and smiled back.

“ _Please_ read me your trashy Orc novel,” she said, and settled down into the sheets to listen.

**Author's Note:**

> Adora's pinterest board: https://pin.it/urs7hoxj737hyw  
> Elana's pinterest board: https://pin.it/5g4lqiopbyx6pm  
> Their spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/1272743649/playlist/7Fh94JVKBbaknC0To1ygYE?si=ZMOY5x2ySv2uTBKPqQy1KQ


End file.
